Armored Tales: Korin's Tale
by Dragon Dagger
Summary: The story of how the Armor of Korin became the Armor of Halo. At least my version of it
1. Chapter 1

In a time that has long since past. Five extraordinary Samurai warriors were gifted with a magic armor and abilities far beyond that of a normal mortal. Indeed, this armor was so unique in that it made its bearer immortal to any thing except a mortal wound. These five warriors came from five different walks of life and five different areas of Japan. This is the story of Just one of those armors and the warrior it chose.

The first armor was that of Wizened Courtesy and Light. Known as the armor of Halo or the Korin Armor, It chose Date Seiji as its bearer. A gentle and meditative soul Seiji was most surprised to be meditating one day and see a vision of such clarity that he would forever wonder that he had seen it at all. Since his heart seemed to wish to follow this vision of strength, he soon packed what few things he owned in the world and walked off in the general direction his heart and soul pulled him in.

As he walked he soon found himself in front of a large cavern that lead into the famed Pinnacles. Knowing that if he was wrong about any of what he had seen or felt he would be lost forever in the dark recesses of the unlit caverns for the eternity. He still felt the strong pull of his spirit and followed it into the cavern.

As he wandered blindly in the complete dark of the Pinnacles he found that if he would try to stray from the direction that his soul set for him, he would find a cliff leading up or strait down. Once he discovered this he gave up trying to find his own way and let his heart lead.

After wandering around and in his own mind getting thoroughly lost he found himself in a dimly lit area that spread out into a cavern the likes he had never seen. Sitting in the middle of the cavernous room was a suit of armor that was green with gold trim. Its faceplate was fearsome to look at and the suit was seated in such a manner that when Seiji looked at it he swore it would stand with the aid of the spirits and walk towards him.

He was so amazed and drawn to the armor in the room that he did not notice that his legs had moved him right up to the suit itself. Once he realized this he looked around to see what other wonders would be in the cavern for him to marvel at.

Nothing.

The room was devoid of any other treasures and the very light that lit the room seemed to come from the suit of armor. He reached out with his hand to touch the faceplate that drew him in. For one moment the entirety of the Pinnacles saw light in a blinding flash of green energy as the armor moved.

Seiji never saw the armor move, but when his eyes readjusted to the new light levels in the room he was amazed that he was now the source of the light. When he looked down at himself he really startled in shock as he had a no-daitchi in one hand and was now clad in the green armor. He was confused, scared and wary of this possible gift until a voice entered his thoughts and greeted him.

~Greetings Date Seiji. Or should I say... Korin no Seiji...~

"What?? Who is there?? How do you know my name?? and what is Korin??" The fear that he had been hiding for this long had finally manifested in the form of questions. He strove to understand what was happening to him and the understand all of the new experiences that had occurred in the last few days.

~I am Korin. The spirit of the armor that you are now wearing. Because of that the armor's name is also Korin. Several days ago I was awakened from the slumber that had claimed me since the moment of my creation. Because of this awakening I was forced to find a bearer of the right inclination that would accept me or sleep eternally. I chose to stay awake this time around and in doing so I cast my shadow over the world for the mind that would receive my image and come. Several people saw me, but only yourself came to my aid.~

As the Armor spirit told its short story it also accompanied it with pictures of the other people it touched and even in just the pictures Seiji could feel their potential. What he did not understand however was how they could not follow their spirit and come to this place.

~There in lies the true test of ones character and willingness to listen to their heart. You of all the young men and women my vision touched passed the test with out so much as thinking about. Yet with in the test you continued to figure out different ways even though you knew your heart was right. A sign of a good warrior as you were always thinking and not just blindly following.~

"I was thinking but what about the others. Will they forget the vision or will they remember and wonder or remember and not care." He was trying to understand what made him stand out and made him unique other than the stated facts and in doing so made the armor spirit chuckle.

~Young Seiji, you will learn that you are not as unique as you think you are in the ways of the armor. But for the others that received the vision they will remember or forget as they choose and they will continue on with their life as if nothing untoward had happened, unless they choose to remember and ponder.~

Seiji was relieved that the spirit would not force anything that would be against the individual's nature and in hearing and seeing this through the spirit's eyes he was reassured that he would be in control should he need the armor for anything.

~Yes, you will be in control. But I will be here in the back of your mind when you are wearing me to be a guide and teacher. Learn from me and I will make you a better student. Remember what I teach and think, but not to long about my suggestions when you go into battle. Most of what I have to tell you when you are fighting will be suggestion from millennia of battles and time in the other realms.~

"Ummm one more question if I may. How do I take you off and what is your code?"

~To remove the armor all you have to do is focus on the kanji symbol that you have been branded with. The symbol of courtesy, and the armor energy will flow to a small crystal. This crystal will be known to you as the Korin Yoroi Crystal. As for my code. It is the Code of the Samurai, one that I am most certain that you are familiar with.~

Seiji nodded and concentrated on the kanji of Courtesy and soon felt the energy centralize around his neck as a Crystal just as the Spirit said. Nodding to himself he realized that he was now in a dark cavernous room with out any light. The voice again chuckles in his mind. ~You are the warrior of light. Let it be so.~

Seiji smiled at that one reminder and as he held his hand out he saw a glowing light dancing in it illuminating his way out of the caverns. As he found his way out he noticed the light getting brighter as he neared the exit to the pinnacles. Smiling in relief, he jogged to the entrance and noticed that, yes it was daylight, but no it was not the same day.

Suddenly worried about the family that he had left behind he retraced his way back to the village that he lived in. As he walked into the town, he noticed that people that usually smiled to him on the streets were looking at him strangely. He looked at himself and could not see what had changed about him to make people change that much about him. However when he finally returned home he finally noticed the change that made the difference.

Years.

Years had passed since he left the village and it had changed him almost as much as it had changed the people of the village. When he went to greet his mother the change in years really hit home. He was still young and almost the same age as he was when he left on his journey. Yet his mother was now wizened and gray. The years and the grief of her missing son had not been kind to her as she hobbled out to greet the son that had been thought of as dead for so many years. The shock on her face matched exactly the look of shock on his face when they saw each other. One changed and the other unchanged with the passage of time she still drew the son once lost into her fierce embrace.

"Long have I prayed that you would return home to me unharmed, my Seiji-chan. Now you are not only unharmed, but unchanged as well from the last time I saw you. What has happened my son."

"There will be time for that story mother. Where are grandfather and father? Why are they not here to work with you in the fields behind the house?" He looked around almost straining his hearing for the familiar sounds of his father and grandfather bickering as they worked.

"Oh Seiji, I wish I could spare you the pain that comes with change. Your Grandfather passed on not to long after you had left. With out his grandchild to goad him into being himself and workouts, he gave up on life and wasted away. As he saw what was happening he chose to die with honor than to die as a man given up."

"Your Father never returned from burying my father, and all I can do is hope that he is alive and that he is just looking for you where ever you may have gone in the world."

As they talked they walked around the Date property which, thanks to the careful guidance and much thought, had grown to a considerable size in the years that Seiji had been gone. As he looked around in amazement at everything new to him, he could only wonder just how many years had gone by since he went into the pinnacles. He also could not fathom why he was so loath to tell his own mother where he had gone, however all he had to do was reach back to the corner of his mind and he could feel the Korin spirit resting there. Watching and waiting for him to be alone, yet knowing that he needed this time with his family to start to sort his life out into the years that he had been gone. 


	2. Chapter 2

As time past for Seiji and his mother, it soon came time for good byes once again. As his mother called him to her bed one morning he noticed that she was calm and peaceful as always, but something was shining in her eyes differently as she spoke in weakened tones to her son.

"My son. Now has come the time for goodbyes again. I am old and weak and I feel that I have served in my life most valiantly. You have stayed since the day you returned, and though it hurt you to see your old friends grown with families of their own. I know that it hurt you more that these once friends now see you as something dangerous and possibly possessed."

"I know that my boy has been changed. But it is a good change; he is strong and wiser than when he left on his journey to follow that vision that he had one day. You are kind and loving, courteous and wiser than your apparent years would suggest. Don▓t ever loose your way Seiji-chan for one day it will be your saving grace."

With those last whispered words, Seiji▓s mother slipped from life as regally as she lived it, and it was all that Seiji could do to hold back the tears that stung painfully in his eyes. Over the next few days he prepared for the burial in the family shrine and attended it. It was a painful time for most of the town for the Dates were a fiercely proud line that stretched back several dynasties. Now there was the family in remote parts of Japan but for Seiji. There was nothing left for him here in the village he once called home.

As he sold off some of the family possessions, he kept the title and deed to the house and lands that his parents had ceded to him when they passed on. He closed up the house and took only one thing with him. The family sword. With out it he was no one and nothing. This was his proof that he was a Date. Descendant of the One-eyed Dragon Masamune Date, and that his word was worth his honor on the battlefield or in peace.

He traveled about Japan and as he wandered through the years he changed his name several times to hide his secret. And each time, he kept his sword to prove the lineage. He came to desire a family and a place that he could call his own in the world again and so set about in a proposal and wedding to one of the girls on the farm that he was staying on for the month during the harvest and as he was asked where he would go to settle down with his intended he produced the still legible documents that he was the owner of the Date lands and property back in his home village. This was found to be acceptable and the Marriage was blessed.

After they returned to his home and he gained her trust and she gained his. Seiji now known as Tananka spoke to her of his secret. Who he was and the whole story of his first 500 years. At first she was scared of him and fearful that she would be labeled as a witch because of her husband▓s longevity, but was soon reassured that nothing would happen to her after he swore to her on his family sword that if she were in any danger because of him then he would defend her and then leave her. She agreed to this even though she loved him dearly and he loved her with all of his heart.

Later on they had a son and named him Kai. He was quiet and a generous child, but had the same problems as his father did when he was that age. A fever broke out amongst the people and try as they might they could not keep young Kai from the illness. He was ill and the fever weakened him to such a state that was painful to see.

Two weeks after the fever broke out in young Kai, Tananka had seen enough. None of the healing herbs that he knew about were working and the Wife that he loved as much as his son was worrying herself into the illness. As he eased his wife into rest with their favorite song and watched her sleeping next to Kai, he stepped out into the small grove behind the house.

Sitting in the meditation pose his body responded quickly to the years of discipline he had worked on and soon quieted so that his thought were the only part of him that were active. As he reached the level of calm that he knew would work he reached out tentatively to the spirit in his mind. ~Korin. I need your help.~

~I know, but are you willing to deal with the consequences of you helping your wife and son?~

~I don▓t care about the consequences. The town is starting to heal from the fever and still my only son is ill with the fever and will not last much longer. You and I both know that I will do anything for them.~ His thoughts trailed off as the first tear he shed in recent memory traced its way down his cheek.

~You are in earnest about this thought and the strength of your love for your family adds further proof of your vow to your wife. I will help you to heal your family, in return you must accept all of the consequences of the use of the abilities that you are about to use, for it will forever mark your branch of the Clan apart from the rest and this branch will one day be called to make the ultimate sacrifice.~

Tananka nodded in acceptance of the prophecy and focused on the kanji crystal that now sat before him and took it up in his hand. Focusing tightly around the orb he unlocked the crystal▓s energy and felt it flow about him turning into the armor that he had only used twice before in his life. Once he knew that he was fully armed, he walked back to the house.

Once inside he moved quietly to his wife▓s side and put his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming at the visage before her when she woke up. As she came fully alert he was talking softly to her reassuring her and making sure that she understood that it was him under the faceplate and armor and that he was wearing them for a reason.

After he briefly explained what he was going to do to heal Kai she agreed to the terms that the Korin spirit had laid out for him he pulled out the Korin Ken and laid it on the boy. She caught her breath at the blade but kept her silence as she knew that Tananka would never do any thing to hurt their son. She watched him in awe as the green energy of the armor seemed to flow to the sword and to the boy.

Time passed as the meditation rituals that Tananka had performed with out fail everyday started to make sense to his wife and she started to relax as she could see Kai▓s breathing start to ease. She left the room to make tea for all three of them.

As the healing started to take hold and cleanse the boy▓s system of the danger, Tananka was showing signs of age. The lines started to appear light and then as the healing progressed, they became deeper and more pronounced. With a solid flash of green light and energy the healing finished and the armor disappeared leaving only a green and white sub-armor behind.

Siri shrieked and dropped the tray of tea when she saw a blond haired, gray-violet eyed Kai up and trying to get his now aged father to wake up. His hair, once black, was now silver and the lines that were never so noticeable from his hours in the sun and weather and travels were now pronounced and he looked to be as old as one of the village elders.

Later that evening when Tananka woke up, he was terribly weak and he knew that he did not have much time left. The armor was true to its word. He was immortal until he received a wound that would be mortal. The energy that the healing took had aged him and left him with enough time to teach Siri and Kai about the Yoroi of Korin and its code.

As the oldest son, Kai was chosen to take on the armor by both Korin and Tananka. He trained hard and learned the fine art of meditation for all purposes. He listened to both Korin and his father teach him all he would need to know about the armor and the codes that a samurai upheld. Then he learned to fight with all manner of weapons but true to the family nature he was especially adept with the daitchi and no-daitchi.

When he was almost finished with his training he was called to his father▓s room with his mother. Siri had tears in her eyes but never let them fall as she stood behind her son as they entered. It was evening and the skies were especially clear that night as it was midsummer and the winds were from the north but were not cold as they blew gently through the shutters.

"Siri, I know that you were expecting to go first. But life is seldom what we expect it to be. Take care of Kai and until he is of age, the lands and properties of the Date family are under your guidance. The papers are already signed and are already in Kai▓s name."

"Kai, my only son and of whom I am very proud. Come here." As Kai approached his father he could now see the strength that had held him to this point now had slipped almost away.

"Father, What is it that you would have me do?"

"Kai, you were always good and a friend to all. You trained hard and you now know almost everything you need to know to survive in this world. We are in perilous times for ones such as ourselves as we are different. Take care that you do not anger those that can take your life, and if you do be sure to always have more than one exit that they do not know about."

Tananka reached up to his neck and brought out the Korin Yoroi Crystal that glowed in the twilight with its ever-present energy. "This is yours. Take care of it and listen to Korin as you have listened to me for guidance in your moments of need. He will be there for you as he has been there for me. Should the time come for you to pass this crystal on to your own, keep it in the family. A son that will listen to Korin and that Korin will accept. He will not steer you wrong in the training of your children. If you▓ve no sons. Then the most likely of your daughters, for the time till come when the future may need him and the bearer of the armor."

Tananka handed the crystal over to Kai and as the crystal and chain flashed brightly at the change over, so did Tananka▓s last breath so leave him and he was still. This was the first of many passings of the crystal for in the line of the family not every generation bonded with the spirit or the armor. Yet as the crystal was passed at the deathbed of the generation before, it was never chosen wrong and it was eventually passed to a young boy named Sage. And from there in his training the story ends and a new one begins as the beginning of the Ronin Warriors. 


End file.
